Changes in S-IgA level following intensive exercise and immersion in hot and cold water

Abstract

Background: Intensive physical exercise influences physical and psychological stress which in turn causes hormonal and immune variations. This study assessed the effect of three water immersion methods on salivary immunoglobulin A (S-IgA), heart rate (HR) and fatigue. Methods: In this study 10 elite female swimmers with at least 3 years of athletic experience (aged 17.8 ± 2.2 years) were selected through convenient purposeful sampling. On 3 different days with 48-hour intervals, they performed a 100-meter front crawl. They then completed a 15-minute recovery method contrast water therapy (CWT) (2 minutes in hot (40°C) water and 1 minute in cold (23°C) water), cold water (23°C) immersion (CWI), or hot water (40°C) immersion (HWI). S-IgA levels and HR were recorded before and after the test and also after the recovery. The effects of each recovery method on fatigue were evaluated by a questionnaire. Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the collected data. Findings: The results showed that S-IgA levels increased after recovery methods. In addition, a significant difference was observed between HWI and CWI (19% vs. 8.9%) in terms of S-IgA levels. HR decreased significantly following CWI compared with HWI. Conclusion: Generally, CWI reduced fatigue and increased muscle relaxation. HWI can increase S-IgA secretion. It can thus improve quality of recovery and is suggested after the sprint swimming.